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Multi-award-winning hedge fund administrator Opus Fund Services was established in Bermuda in 2006, subsequently expanding its footprint into the US with offices in Chicago (2008), San Francisco (2009), New York (2013) and Portland (2014). It serves over 275 fund managers and 400+ funds with a combined AUM exceeding USD10.5bn. Last year saw another flurry of activity among hedge fund administrators, both large and small, and for a mid-sized administrator with an institutional offering, Opus was able to reap the benefits; this was partly due to M&A activity, and partly due to banking groups deciding to focus on other areas of
The IQ Hedge Multi-Strategy Tracker ETF (`QAI') seeks to replicate the risk-adjusted return characteristics of hedge funds using multiple hedge fund investment styles, including long/short equity, global macro, market neutral, event-driven, fixed income arbitrage, and emerging markets.  Since its inception in 2009, QAI has outperformed the Barclays US Aggregate Bond Index during all 12 rising rate periods. Based on IndexIQ's proprietary rules-based process, QAI rebalances exposures across the broad hedge fund strategies to respond to the changing dynamics of the market. To clarify, QAI does not invest in hedge funds and the Index it tracks (IQ Hedge Multi-Strategy Index) does
2015 proved to be an excellent year for HedgeMark. Since BNY Mellon's acquisition of HedgeMark in May 2014, it's thesis regarding the strategic value of housing a dedicated managed account business within a global asset servicing organisation has been validated.  "Being tied to a global financial institution is a critical factor when investors are evaluating dedicated managed account (DMA) providers. Last year, we closed several new dedicated managed account (DMA) clients and launched more than 20 new DMAs for existing and new clients, who are shifting from commingled hedge fund investments into hedge fund managed accounts," comments Andrew Lapkin, CEO
DMS Offshore Investment Services specialises in providing global fund governance with the firm best regarded for the provision of offshore independent directors in the Cayman Islands. The second core business line is its UCITS and AIFMD management company and platform based in Dublin and Luxembourg. The interest in the platform has accelerated this year to the point where the management company has secured more than 60 fund mandates with close to 40 launched.  "In addition, we have over 100 risk clients to whom we are providing a range of risk and reporting services," comments CEO, Anne Storie (pictured). She continues:
Hendrik Klein and his team at Zurich-based Da Vinci Invest AG have been trading futures on Eurex since 1995, using a sophisticated algorithm to track economic indicators. In 2009, when Need to Know News brought out a computer-readable news feed, Klein immediately implemented it into the Da Vinci algorithm.  The proprietary strategy that resulted was highly successful, generating nearly 14 per cent between August and December of 2009. On 1st June 2011, the strategy, which scans newsfeeds for econometric indicators such as non-farm payroll data, US unemployment figures to trade as soon as there are discrepancies between the consensus view
Whereas previously investment managers might have looked at risk from a `check-the-box' perspective, today's regulatory environment and the growing sophistication of institutional investors is requiring them take it more seriously. There is, according to Bennett Egeth, President of Broadridge Investment Management Solutions, a need to generate consistent, reproducible risk reporting for regulators.  "Risk requirements have a ripple effect with managers having to explain how they arrived at the risk numbers being reported. They're detailing what their assumptions were in calculating risk, how those assumptions have changed (if at all) from the previous quarterly filings, and where the data came from
Blue Diamond Asset Management is an independent privately owned company based in Pfaffikon, Switzerland. The team of 4 investment professionals and one COO has a singular focus on the Non-Directional strategy. The strategy uses systematic, proprietary investment processes to capture opportunities arising in the equity volatility markets to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns. Since the strategy launched on 30 September, 2011 it has generated a gross annualised return of 31.9 per cent, 21.6 per cent net.  The fund itself commenced trading on 1st May, 2012. To demonstrate the robustness of the strategy, it has generated +0.7 per cent average monthly return
2015 was a big year for Concept Capital Markets, LLC having entered into an agreement to be acquired by Cowen Group, a leading growth investment bank and alternative investment firm with a heritage dating back to 1918. The transaction was completed 1 September 2015 and thanks to the significant financial and intellectual resources that Cowen has at its disposal, the newly named `Cowen Prime Services’ division is now well positioned, and resourced, to further expand its prime brokerage offering. “The acquisition is a validation of Concept Capital’s capabilities in the marketplace and a realisation that with the firms’ shared view with respect
According to Stephen Burke, Managing Director, EMEA, at Cordium, one of the world's leading regulatory compliance consultancies, regulation has changed the fund market. There is much more complexity and both investors and regulators are more exacting. This has led to Cordium focusing on its software proposition, which culminated in the launch of a product solution set earlier this year around how clients organise their compliance arrangements and engage with their compliance programmes.  "This software includes Cordium ELF, a personal compliance software management system, Cordium Pilot, a compliance workflow management tool, and Compliance Trak, which provides AML functions; in aggregate,
For the sixth consecutive year, the Best Global Accounting Firm is Anchin, Block & Anchin LLP. With a staff of more than 350 and numerous specialised industry and service teams, Anchin is a full-service accounting, tax and advisory firm that provides investment companies, privately-held businesses, and HNW individuals with a wide range of traditional and non-traditional services. Jeffrey Rosenthal, CPA, is Partner- in-Charge of Anchin's Financial Services Group. 2015 was, he says, a `breakthrough year'.  "We saw a significant increase in the number of startup funds, and a growing trend in family offices establishing funds for investing purposes and having those

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